


The Hollow Loss of Genius

by useyourlove



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Flash Fic, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-06
Updated: 2014-06-06
Packaged: 2018-02-03 15:39:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1749821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/useyourlove/pseuds/useyourlove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fitz and Simmons try to cope with the consequences of the S1 finale. Spoilers, obvs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Hollow Loss of Genius

**Author's Note:**

> Things I expected: to be destroyed. Things I got: a hiatus of uncertainty. What would destroy me the most came to my head instantly: Fitz being Fitz but no longer a genius, and having to deal with that. And his other half having to deal with that. And can we just say "Fred and Wes," Joss _et al_? Geez.

He doesn't finish her sentences anymore, giddy with some mutual discovery.

Trip would take her breath away, but he knows better now. They both know that won't ever happen. Not with Fitz between them. She wouldn't _let_ that happen. Fitz, loving her with the desperation that only comes when your whole world is slipping away from you.

Fitz thinks he should just go. He never says it, but Jemma knows. She knows and never says he shouldn't; but she shows him he needs to stay. Shows him that she needs him here, beside her, that no one else will do. There are still times when they don't have to speak, but they never involve science.

She misses him, and it's not fair to either of them. Even when he's wrapped in her arms she misses him like chlorophyl misses the sun at night, and he can tell. He wants to be her everything. He wants to be her Fitz; but he can't get his brain to do it anymore--like an engine that skips, misfires, and dies choking, smothered by too much gasoline. What use is a genius without his genius? He's nothing but a liability now--a scared little wimp who sits in the Bus and waits for the others to return. Watching the spark leave Simmons' eyes while he sits in the corner of the lab and she talks to herself--excited for only as long as she forgets he has no idea what she's talking about. Excited until the only echo she hears is her own voice in the stillness.

"We'll fix this, Fitz," she says with a sad smile. "We always do." But he's not himself anymore, is he? Sometimes she feels like half of her own mind has been ripped away. She can't imagine what it's like for him, but she doesn't have to because she can see it.

All he's left with is her, and he knows--he _knows_ \--he should leave; let her get on with her life; but he can't bring himself to do it. And every time she sees that emptiness in his eyes she kisses his face to see it light up, brushing her fingers across his hair. And he stays.


End file.
